Chapter 256: More Than One Super Epic! Special Area: Karuta Factory
With a hissing brake sound, the elongated train body stopped in front of Shangshan Che.
Before entering the train, one more thing had to be done.
Shangshan Che looked at the ticket inspection box that appeared beside the carriage door. The rust on that iron box was clearly much more pronounced than on the train body, proving that nobody used it normally.
This time, he was a ticketed passenger.
Therefore, he was a distinguished passenger, not a “stowaway” who needed to worry about their life if they boarded without a ticket.
Shangshan Che threw the torn ticket in his hand into the dark entrance marked with the words “Ticket Gate.”
After waiting a few seconds, he saw the remaining half of the ticket and a transparent badge slide out from the bottom, making a dinging sound.
Shangshan Che picked up the badge and found that this faintly glowing badge was the “Passenger Certificate.”
The back of the badge stated that as long as he kept the glowing badge on him, he would not encounter any danger on the train, no matter what.
Even if the train became full or lost power, it would have nothing to do with him.
– When he unlocked Kisaragi Station a long time ago, the information Shangshan Che received was that one needed to disembark immediately if the above situations occurred.
“It’s different when you have a ticket.”
Shangshan Che chuckled, hung the identity badge around his neck, and swaggered into the carriage, which had a moderate number of passengers.
Pat.
As he entered, the number of passengers on the electronic screen changed from “8” to “9.”
Without paying attention to the demons and monsters in the carriage yet, Shangshan Che happened to see that the seats facing the carriage door were empty, so he boldly sat down.
He sat down first, then leisurely looked around to see what kind of things were there.
“Oh?”
But what first caught Shangshan Che’s attention were not the demons with labels above their heads.
It was a few young people huddled in the corner of the carriage, covering their mouths, afraid to make a sound, and trembling.
Two men and two women had pale faces and were sweating profusely, but even so, they dared not make any extra noise.
Shangshan Che sized them up for a few glances without concealment. Judging from their relatively professional gear, they were likely a few university students who went on a hiking trip…
It’s just that their luck was really bad, to have encountered the Eternal World Train that ordinary people would never see in their lifetime.
That glance made the four young people afraid to even tremble.
They all lowered their heads, clenched their fists, stopped trembling, and didn’t dare to breathe, like a group of primary school students who fell silent after being lectured by their homeroom teacher.
Only, this scene was much more terrifying than a homeroom teacher scolding them.
– When a Great Demon wearing a Fox Mask with six tails on its back, who was clearly not simple, came up and targeted you, wouldn’t you be scared?
That’s right, Shangshan Che was currently using the ability of “Thousand Faces – Modified” to transform himself into the superior form of a Four-tailed Fox, the “Six-tailed Fox.”
Generally speaking, Six-tailed Foxes were at least Ghost God level existences, and could be called Great Demons anywhere.
Traveling in the Eternal World in this form could also avoid most trouble.
Moreover, Shangshan Che had also changed his Hannya Mask into a Fox Mask, and used the Spirit Condensing Technique and some Embracing the Core techniques to completely conceal his own aura.
As a result, only a faint aura of Ghost God’s might naturally emanated from the mask, solidifying his identity as a “Ghost God Six-tailed Fox.”
When going out, your identity is what you make it!
Shangshan Che no longer exerted pressure on the four university students with his gaze, and instead looked around.
Among the other eight passengers, there were Lesser Demons whom he could kill with a single palm, as well as not-simple Three-and-a-half Star Urban Legends.
There was even someone completely shrouded in cloth, with a 【 on their head.
Not to be trifled with, not to be trifled with.
Shangshan Che’s sweeping gaze flashed and did not linger.
He simply lowered his eyes and felt the gazes falling upon him.
Hmm, a total of seven.
The emotions were apprehension, curiosity, and surprise.
– This was probably the effect of the Passenger Certificate on his chest.
Aside from the unknown existence with a question mark above its head, the others in the same carriage were not too difficult to handle.
Shangshan Che thought to himself and glanced at the four university students who were scared out of their wits.
– It would probably be inconvenient for him to send these few to the Mortal Realm this time as he had to go to Karuta Factory III.
However, it was still possible to help them a little.
In most cases, Shangshan Che was always generous with his help.
After several minutes of condensing his Qi, half of Shangshan Che’s spiritual power was consumed, transforming into four bright lightning balls on his fingertips, without any Gūhuāniǎo aura attached.
It wasn’t that Shangshan Che was reluctant to expend spiritual power, but with their ordinary human physiques, being able to withstand such compressed and purified spiritual power…
If there were any more, Shangshan Che could not guarantee that these lightning balls would not suddenly explode.
Silently, he flicked the four lightning balls into the bodies of the university students, instantly alleviating their extreme fear and profuse sweating.
In just a few seconds, the four university students stopped trembling with the help of the lightning balls emanating a masculine energy.
“Huh? Why do I suddenly feel… my hands have stopped shaking?”
“Me too!”
“I’m not so scared anymore!”
“What happened?”
They looked at each other in silent astonishment, not understanding the reason for the surge of energy within them.
“You four, if you see a modern station later, get off quickly.”
A straight Qi Barrier flowed to the ears of the four, and Shangshan Che’s modulated hoarse voice sounded softly,
“One more reminder, if the train becomes full or loses power, you must also get off immediately… Getting off doesn’t guarantee survival, but not getting off will definitely lead to death.”
This voice, which seemed to suddenly ring in their minds, made the university students tremble, almost letting out a scream.
Fortunately, they liked hiking and had more experience, so their overall psychological resilience was passable.
After a series of exchanged glances, the four confirmed that the source of these abnormally developing situations was likely the Six-tailed Fox that had boarded not long ago.
Although they didn’t know why this yokai was protecting them, it didn’t prevent their grateful gazes from falling upon him.
Shangshan Che closed his eyes and leaned back, unmoved.
A thought arose, it was just a small act of kindness.
In less than half an hour, Shangshan Che heard the electronic announcement saying that the next station was arriving, but it didn’t say where.
As soon as he opened the map, he saw that he was indeed close to the pinpoint belonging to Karuta Factory.
Clang clang clang…
The train’s speed slowed down and it only opened its doors after coming to a complete stop.
All the demons remained motionless in their seats; only Shangshan Che stood up.
Seeing the Six-tailed Fox stand up, some of the university students also moved their buttocks, wanting to follow him off the train.
However, this intention was eventually suppressed by the other three working together.
Because outside the train door, it was a desolate, completely empty scene, and it was certainly not the Real World.
A newly boarded Great Demon in the carriage narrowed his eyes, showing a look of apprehension, as if recognizing whose territory this was.
Shangshan Che calmly got off the train. Within the few dozen seconds the carriage door was open, he felt many gazes sweep over him.
But under the imposing Ghost God aura he exuded, they all withdrew.
No demons got off, nothing happened.
With a buzzing sound, the Eternal World Train gradually moved away.
The identity badge on Shangshan Che’s chest dimmed, but did not disappear.
– Within a month, as long as this identity badge was activated with spiritual power, he could ride the Eternal World Train again to the next location.
As expected, it was a “round trip ticket,” not a “one-way ticket.”
The effect of this train ticket was quite good.
The mist dissipated, instantly opening up Shangshan Che’s vision, which had previously been limited to about a hundred meters, allowing him to see the huge, towering black cube standing a kilometer away.
“Factory…?”
Shangshan Che looked up and saw two or three yellowish-brown clouds floating around the waist of the black cube.
This factory was literally towering into the clouds… at least several thousand meters high.
Shangshan Che looked left and right again and found that he still couldn’t see the end of the black cube.
“As expected of a Core Factory, the craftsmanship of these Factory Owners who squeeze everything is indeed grand…”
He marvelled with a “tsk tsk” and flew up from the ground towards the sky, which was empty except for a few scattered clouds.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
The strong wind howled past his ears, and Shangshan Che’s expression grew more solemn.
Because he had already flown above the cloud layer, but when he looked up, he still couldn’t see the end of the black cube within his line of sight.
Shangshan Che hovered at an altitude of about eight thousand meters and did not go any higher.
His intuition told him that even though there was nothing in front of him at the moment, if he continued to fly upwards, he would most likely encounter something terrifying.
Then his life would be forfeit here.
So Shangshan Che descended below the cloud layer and began to measure the length and width of the black cube.
The results came out soon.
The length was thirty kilometers, and the width was also thirty kilometers.
Therefore, the height could also be determined to be the same.
The volume of a single factory was so large, it could be considered a super-giant complex.
At the same time, while measuring the length and width of the factory, Shangshan Che also took in the scenery of several kilometers around and found that there was still nothing.
It was so desolate as to be a forbidden zone for life.
Moreover, the spiritual energy around this factory was lower than in the Mortal Realm before the Tide arrived. It was Shangshan Che’s first time seeing such a situation in the Eternal World.
This indicated that the location where this Core Factory was situated was extremely remote.
However, this was as it should be; with nothing for tens of kilometers around, the secrecy of the plan was greatly guaranteed.
Shangshan Che, who landed in front of the black cube, leaned in and quietly observed the hundreds of dry spell patterns etched on its surface.
He believed that if this Core Factory had not been abandoned for too long, he would not have been able to see this giant black cube when he passed by.
Because the spell patterns on the surface were extremely complex, indicating they were carved by an expert, and he estimated that even an ordinary Great Onmyoji might not understand them.
Shangshan Che also did not understand them.
However, he first noted down a part of them to compare them with when he returned to the Real World.
After making notes, Shangshan Che began to search in circles for the shrine that should exist.
When opening a map, the first thing to do is always to light up the shrine.
– If there’s no respawn point, strategy for a new map would be too painful.
After about a minute, Shangshan Che, who had good luck, pulled out the small shrine embedded in the dirt and dusted off the thick dust with his Qi Barrier.
The shrine emitted a faint light, and a prompt appeared.
【 You have lit the shrine of the Abandoned Core Factory · Karuta III. 】
【 Current area unlocked: Abandoned Core Factory · Karuta III （ Two-Star ~ Four-Star ）】
【 Note 1: The current area is a special zone with no Main Quest. Please explore it yourself. 】
【 Note 2: There is at least one Super Epic quality item in the current area. 】
【 Note 3: Committing severe destructive acts in Karuta III will attract the attention of the Factory Owners. 】
It’s normal to have special rules for a special zone unlocked with a Super Epic Map.
Shangshan Che dug another small hole, buried the shrine in it, and let it blend into the environment.
Then, he began to read the prompts that popped up carefully.
First, Note 2 stated that there might be more than one Super Epic item in the factory?
He’d hit the jackpot.
Shangshan Che’s eyes lit up, but then he immediately frowned.
– He couldn’t damage the factory, otherwise attracting the Factory Owners would turn it into a dead map.
That would basically mean he couldn’t act within the map… what should he do if he encountered monsters?
This was still a Two-Star to Four-Star map, and there should be quite a few yokai stronger than him.
What should he do?
Unable to think of a solution immediately, Shangshan Che shook his head, deciding it was best to enter the map first to see what was going on.
Without further thought, Shangshan Che flew towards the small door he had discovered while measuring the factory’s distance earlier.
– This door was a good ten meters wide and dozens of meters high, but in comparison to the factory, it could only be considered a small door.
Not long after stepping inside, Shangshan Che tripped over something in the darkness.
He instinctively looked down and saw a white prompt pop up.
【 Remains of Great Blacksmith Series · Type 2 】
What is this?
Can even a corpse trigger a prompt?
This was the first time.
Before Shangshan Che could figure it out, a round, white orb of light floated up from the top of this remains, which was over two meters tall.
【 You have discovered the “Memory Orb of the Shattered Great Blacksmith Series Type 2.” 】
【 Read? 】
Shangshan Che, encountering another prompt, did not act rashly.
He first flipped the remains over and found that apart from being tall and sturdy, it looked no different from a normal person on the outside.
It looked real, and it felt real.
But internally, it was composed of machinery, gears, mechanisms, and spell patterns.
– Unlike the current bio-mechs, it seemed the Factory Owners’ methods of building robots had changed significantly.
After touching it for a while without any breakthrough discoveries, Shangshan Che’s gaze turned to the interior of the factory.
The places not reached by external sunlight were all viscous and pitch-black, which even Shangshan Che’s Eye of Interpretation could not see through.
Danger often comes from the unknown.
“Mmm…”
After thinking for a moment, Shangshan Che focused his thought on the white orb of light.
【 Read? 】
“Read.”
As the thought flashed, Shangshan Che’s vision instantly changed.
…
Fragmented memories and images flickered by.
Tens of thousands of blacksmiths marched in unison, walking along pathways onto huge wooden ships.
Soon, the wooden ships, filled with countless blacksmiths and workers of other trades, set sail, breaking through the waves and heading towards the depths of the boundless ocean.
Shangshan Che recognized this as the Sea of Depth.
The Factory Owners dispatched countless wooden ships to arrive at their destinations from the Sea of Depth, bypassing numerous surveillance and informants.
A Great Blacksmith disembarked from one of the sparsely arriving wooden ships and began constructing Karuta III Factory.
After the factory was completed, the Great Blacksmith began blacksmithing day and night.
Repeatedly, repeatedly, hammering the same component.
Over an extremely long period, none of the techniques in the Great Blacksmith’s memory were of any use.
He was just like a screw, continuously swinging his iron hammer at the same angle with the same force, swinging his iron hammer.
For no reason, the mechanical beings, which originally did not experience emotions, felt sorrow and anger.
There seemed to be a huge blank space in the middle of the memories.
In the end, what Shangshan Che felt was a bit of satisfaction and happiness.
“Want to come in for a game, sir?”
Not yet recovered from the many scenes brought about by the Memory Orb, Shangshan Che, with blinking eyes, saw a brightly lit, bustling scene.
Before him, a woman wearing a fox mask and loose-fitting kimono, tugging at his sleeve, asked him sweetly.
Shangshan Che, who was in a daze, turned his head.
Then, he discovered that the unknown Karuta III Factory, which had been entirely filled and enveloped by darkness, had now inexplicably transformed into a lively and unfamiliar market!
In his bewilderment, Shangshan Che raised his eyes.
【 Hanafuda Market 】
Three ancient-looking characters hung on a large plaque.
Having been to Edo Castle, Shangshan Che could recognize at a glance that this was undoubtedly the architectural style of the Edo Period.
No, what happened?
Did I transmigrate again?
Last time it was the Sengoku Period, and this time it’s the Edo Period, right?
I just glanced at a Memory Orb by a corpse at the map’s doorway, did I break a heavenly rule?
Shangshan Che opened the map list but found that the 【 Core Factory: Karuta III 】 had not changed.
The most fundamental fact had not changed.
He blinked, observing the buxom, rosy-cheeked fox-masked woman before him, and then the ceaseless flow of people in the Hanafuda Market.
In other words.
This is still Karuta III Factory.
Brothers, requesting monthly votes at the beginning of the month!
